Inflatable kites



June 4, 1963 R. A. POHL 3,092,359

INFLATABLE KITES Filed 001;. 10, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

RUSSELL A. POHL ATTORNEY June 4; 1963 R. A. POHL 3,092,359

INFLATABLE KITES Filed Oct. 10, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

RUSSELL A. POHL ATTORNEY Site The present invention relates to inflatable articles and more particularly to inflatable articles formed from flexible sheet material for use as a toy glider, display, or advertising device and the like.

Inflatable articles according to the present invention are assembled from several easily fabricated units of gas impervious material. The articles preferably include separately inflatable compartments so that if one compartment should become perforated, all of the inflation gas will not escape. The separate compartments extend longitudinally of the article to provide a satisfactory airfoil. Also where the compartments or airfoils are separate units, the airfoils are preferably made movable so that the airfoil can be moved longitudinally of the article to regulate flight characteristics.

Briefly stated, the present invention comprises at least one narrow, elongated inflatable body compartment preferably including a nose portion and tail portion; a plurality of inflatable, swept-back laterally extending airfoils attached to the body compartment; and openings operatively associated with the body compartment and airfoils for the admission of inflation gas. According to a preferred form of the invention, the inflatable airfoils or compartments are secured to a sleeve open at each end which fits frictionally over the body member to secure the airfoils in position.

It is one object of the present invention to provide an improved inflatable article or display device.

It is still another object of this invention to provide an improved inflatable article having the general shape of a rocket propelled missile wherein means is provided for preventing the entire device from being deflated when one of the chambers becomes perforated.

It is a still further object of thi invention to provide an improved inflatable article having a body compartment and separable airfoils with improved means for frictionally securing the airfoils to the body portion.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an improved inflatable kite wherein the airfoils may be moved as desired along the longitudinal axis of the body portion of the kite to suit varying flight conditions.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved inflatable kite having a plurality of separate body chambers.

These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent in view of the following illustrative embodiments of the present invention taken in conjunction with the figures wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one form of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the inflated device of FIG- URE 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the device of FIGURES 1 and 2 during assembly;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the assembled, deflated airfoils of FIG. 3 after being sealed to the sleeve portion of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIGURE 1;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of another embodiment of the present invention before inflation;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the device of FIG. 6 after inflation;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of another embodiment of the invention after inflation;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIGURE 1 with a motor attached to the body portion;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention after inflation; and

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along line 13-13 of FIG. 12.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG- URES 1-5 a display device 10 comprising a narrow elongated body chamber 12 formed from flexible, gas impervious sheet material such as polyethylene film. Chamber 12 is provided with a pointed nose portion 14 and pointed tail portion 16. At the nose portion 14, there is provided an inflation opening 18 to allow for the admission of inflation gas into body chamber 12. Attached to the body chamber of the kite 12 at a point somewhat closer to the tail 16, than to the nose 14, are two inflatable laterally extending airfoils 20 and 22. Each airfoil 20 and 22 is connected to a tubular sleeve 40 along seams 11 (see FIG. 4) and to each other by a seam 13. Each of the airfoils 20 and 22 includes a leading edge formed by seal lines 26 and 28 respectively (see FIG. 3) which are angled toward the tail to provide each airfoil with a considerable amount of sweepback. The trailing edges are formed by seal lines 30 and 32 respectively (see FIG. 3) and are angled toward the tail. Each of the airfoils 20 and 22 contains an inflation opening 34 and 36 respectively for admission of inflation air into the airfoils. Airfoils 20 and 22 are secured to the longitudinal body portion 12 by means of a tubular sleeve 49 open at both ends and of the same diameter as body portion 12 so that sleeve 40 is frictionally fitted to body portion 12.

The device is preferably fabricated in the following manner. Referring to FIG. 3, tubular body chamber 12 is formed from a tube of plastic material closed at the nose 14 and tail 16 by seals. It may also be formed from two similar sheets of plastic material 72 and 74 sealed together along outer matching edges preferably by heat sealing as disclosed in FIG. 6. An opening 18 is provided at the nose portion of chamber 12 to inflate the body chamber 12. Triangular sections of plastic sheet materials 46 and 48 are sealed together along seals 26 and 30 to form airfoil 20. In the same manner, triangular sections of plastic sheet material designated 50 and 52 are sealed together by means of peripheral seals 28 and 32 to form airfoil 22. To form sleeve 40, a single rectangular sheet of plastic is folded once and may be sealed along the matching edges 55 opposite the folded side or the sleeve may be formed as in FIG. 4 by joining edges 55 to extensions 23 and 25 of airfoils 20 and 22 respectively. Airfoils 20 and 22 are then joined by seal 13. After the airfoils 20 and 22 and the sleeve 40 are formed as shown in FIG. 3, these pieces are sealed together along seal lines 11 and 13 as disclosed in FIGURE 4. The finished article is prepared for flight by introducing air through inflation openings 34 and 36. Body portion or chamber 12 is then passed through sleeve 40 and inflated through opening 18. Sleeve 40 can be adjusted at various positions along chamber 12. If the article is to be used as a display device, it is preferably filled with a suitable lifting gas such as helium or hydrogen. A tethering string may be secured to inflation openings 34 and 36.

In FIGURES 6 and 7, there is shown another embodiment of the invention which has a shape generally similar to the embodiments shown in FIGURES 1-5, but which has been formed in a different manner and provides no longitudinal adjustment of the airfoils on the body. The

embodiment disclosed in FIGS. 6 and 7 is composed of two sheets of flexible gas impervious sheet material 72 and 74, such as plastic film. Sheets 72 and 74 are sealed together along outer matching edge 76 and along the edges of laterally extending airfoils or fins 78 and 80 adjacentbody portion 82 by longitudinal seal lines 84 and 86. Seal lines 84 and 86 are each provided with suitable openings 88 and 90 which permit communication between chambers on either side of the seal lines 84 and 86 for the admission of inflation gas from body portion 82 into airfoils 78 and 80.

As in the embodiment shown in FIGURES 1-5, the narrow, elongated, cylindrical body portion 82 is preferably provided with a pointed nose portion 92 and a pointed tail portion 94. An inflation opening 96 is provided in the nose portion 92. Both the leading and trailing edges of fins 78 and 80 are angled toward the tail to provide sweepback for the fins 78 and 30.

If the device is to be used as a display device, the tips of the fins 78 and 80 are provided with tabs 100 and 102 which serve as means for attaching tethering strings The width of the fins 78 and 80 from leading edge to trailing edge measured along the body chamber at the place of attachment of the fins, is preferably about one-third of the total length of the body portion 82. The fins are posirtioned closer to the tail portion 94 than the nose portion 92. A sectional view in FIG. 8 of the embodiment in FIG. 6 shows how the inflated chambers engage adjacent chambers to efl'ectuate structural rigidity in the kite.

FIGURES 9 and show another embodiment of the invention including two laterally extending swept-back airfoils 104 and 105 which are similar to those illustrated in FIGURES 1-5. Each of airfoils 1414 and 106 has an inflation opening at the tip thereof designated 108 and 110 respectively. The airfoils 194 and 106 are heat sealed to a sleeve 112 which is similar to,sleeve 40 of FIGURES 1-5. Instead of a single elongated body member, two inflatable body members 114 and 116 are utilized. Each of members 114 and 116 is similar to the body member 12 of FIGURES l-3. The size of body members 114 and 116 is adjusted to insure a friction engagement of the body membens within sleeve 112. The body members 114 and 116 are provided with inflation openings 120 and 122 respectively at the nose of the members.

Referring now to. FIGURES 12 and 13, there is shown another embodiment of the invention including a body member 120 similar to body member 12. of FIGURES 1-3. However, instead of only two laterally extending air-foils, four laterally extending airfoils are used. These are designated 122, 124, 126, and 128. Airfoils 122 and 126 are sealed to sleeve 130 along a line running longitudinally of the sleeve as in the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 1-5, while airfoils 124 and 128 aresealed to sleeve 130 along a longitudinally'extending line on the other side of the sleeve 130. Aside from the additional airfoils 124 and 128, the embodiment illustrated in FIG- URES 12 and 13 is in all respects similar to that illustrated in FIGURES 1-5.

FIGURE 11 shows an embodiment similar to that of FIGURES. 1-5, including body portion 12 and laterally extending fins 20 and 22 all as explained above. 7 embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 1 was illustrated as a display article, whereas the device in FIGURE 11 is used as a motor powered flying toy. The propulsive force is supplied by means of any suitable motor, such as pulse jet engine 131. The engine 131 is mounted on a lightweight wooden support 132 by means of a strap 134 connected to the sides of support 132 and looped over the top of motor 131. Fuel may be supplied to themotor from a tank 136, also attached to support member 132. Sup- The 7 along said body port member 132 is secured to the film material of the device along the line of intersection between airfoils 20 and 22 by any suitable means such as an adhesive or other fastening means.

The axial position of the airfoils 20 and 22 may be adjusted by moving the sleeve and attached airfoils longitudinally of the body portion in any of the embodiments illustrated in FIGURES 1-5 and 9-13 in order to change the flight characteristics to suit different conditions.

It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are simply illustrative of the principles embodied in the invention and that many modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. An inflatable kite formed from gas impervious material comprising an inflatable body portion, means for introducing gas into said body portion, a flexible sleeve for frictionally engaging said body portion when said body is inflated, and a plurality of inflated airfoils attached to said sleeve and extending longitudinally of said body portion.

2. An inflatable article for use as a toy or advertising device formed from flexible gas impervious plastic sheet material comprising an elongated inflatable body chamber having a nose portion and a tail portion; means operatively associated with the body chamber for admitting inflation air into. said bodycharnber, a plurality of laterally extending swept-back airfoils, means operatively associated with said airfoils for admitting inflation gas into each of said airfoils, a sleeve formed from a flexible sheet material, said sleeve being open at both ends, each of said laterally extending airfoils being secured to said sleeve along a line extending longitudinally of said sleeve, said elongated body chamber being positioned within said sleeve.

3. An inflatable kite formed from gas impervious sheet material comprising an elongated, inflatable body chamber; first means for introducing air into the body chamber; a plurality of inflatable, laterally extending sweptback airfoils; second means for introducing air into each of said airfoils; and atubular sleeve composed of flexible material; said airfoils being attached to said sleeve; said sleeve having openings at either end to permit said body chamber to be positioned within said tubular sleeve to frictionally engage said sleeve when thebody chamber is inflated thereby longitudinally positioning said airfoils chamber.

4. An inflatable kite formed from gas impervious material comprising an inflatable body portion, means for introducing gas into said body portion, a flexible sleeve for drictionally engaging said body portion when said body portion is inflated, a plurality of inflated airfoils attached to said sleeve and extending longitudinally of said body portion, and a propulsion means connected to said body portion for propelling said kite.

5. An inflatable kite formed from gas impervious material comprising an inflatable body portion having a plurality of elongated chambers, means for independentlyintroducing gas into each of said charners, a flexible sleeve for frictionally securing said body chambers to form the body portion when said chambers are inflated, and a plurality of inflated airfoils attached to said sleeve and extending longitudinally of said body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,476,678 Miller July 19, 1949 2,486,158 Haas Oct. 25, 1949 2,630,321 Clyne Mar. 3, 1953 

1. AN INFLATABLE KITE FORMED FROM GAS IMPERVIOUS MATERIAL COMPRISING AN INFLATABLE BODY PORTION, MEANS FOR INTRODUCING GAS INTO SAID BODY PORTION, A FLEXIBLE SLEEVE FOR FRICTIONALLY ENGAGING SAID BODY PORTION WHEN SAID BODY IS INFLATED, AND PLURALITY OF INFLATED AIRFOILS ATTACHED TO SAID SLEEVE AND EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID BODY PORITON. 